Bills Notebook: Hyde's playoff message to teammates is 'put in a little more effort'

The Buffalo Bills rank near the bottom of the NFL with players who have postseason experience.

They have 18, along with the Tennessee Titans, but Buffalo's players who have been in the postseason have taken part in 79 playoff games while the Titans' have played in 82. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bills' wild-card opponent Sunday, and the Los Angeles Rams have fewer players with playoff experience, with 11 and six, respectively.

Still, of the playoff-seasoned Bills, there's one — Pro Bowl safety Micah Hyde — who has been particularly vocal with helping his teammates understand what they're about to face.

"My message to these guys is just put in a little more effort," said Hyde, who was in the playoffs for all of his past four seasons with the Green Bay Packers. "I mentioned there's training-camp speed, there's preseason speed, there's regular-season speed and there's playoff speed. This is amped-up a little bit. Guys are ready to go, watching a little bit more film, studying more.

"The speed's going to pick up a little bit, and just go out there and have fun."

Hyde also said the Bills should thrive on the fact that odds-makers have them as more than a touchdown underdog.

"Being an underdog's awesome in the playoffs," he said. "I love being the underdog in the playoffs, because we can go on the road and try to get the upset. It's just a great feeling walking out of there with a win."

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Running back LeSean McCoy (ankle) was one of seven players who were listed as not participating in Wednesday's practice.

The iPad containing Bills defensive strategy was among the items safety Jordan Poyer said were stolen from his unlocked vehicle as it was parked in downtown Buffalo on New Year's Eve while he and his fiancé took an Uber to another location.

Poyer said he discovered items, including debit and credit cards in his wallet, were stolen after returning to the car Monday morning. He said he immediately contacted the Bills and that someone from their IT department "washed" the data from the iPad.

"Whoever stole the stuff spent the money on food," Poyer said. "Good for him. New Year, he was able to hopefully get some warm clothes or something. Luckily, I was able to find out when I did, the next morning, and was able to cancel the cards and all that."

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Bills linebacker Preston Brown finished first in the NFL with 144 tackles, something that could be helpful considering he's due to become a free agent after the season.

Zach Brown finished second in the league last season with 149 tackles, and then signed with the Washington Redskins as a free agent.

Preston Brown admits that he has considered that he, too, could go elsewhere, although it is not his primary focus.

"You always want to do anything you can to help yourself, but it's all about the team for me," he said. "Now, we've got more games to help prove myself and prove to the world that we're a good team. In the back of your mind, you've always got to think about what's going on because a free agent means you're really free. You're not on a team, so it's a little uneasy. If nobody offers (a contract), you're sitting home for awhile. It's just a weird situation.

"But right now, I'm just trying to help this team and us being in the playoffs, you've got more opportunities to prove yourself now. We go out there and all have great games, win a Super Bowl, everybody will be set for life."